The last match report suggested that there were going to be no ‘gimmees’ in the remaining league matches London Cornish would play in London 2 South-West, and so it proved with this game, the exiles once again hauling themselves off the canvas at half-time to regain the initiative and win going away, this time against perennial opponents Old Reigatians. The vital win means Cornish now need a maximum of 6 points from their remaining 3 league games to secure the play-off spot, and with wonderful timing next weeks visitors are Champions elect Cobham, who need 2 points themselves to confirm their title.
A beautiful day greeted the two teams, the match switched to the former 1s pitch out the back of REMPF due to the continuation of the ‘Ted & Ralph’ problem out front. A decent crowd had gathered to see Cornish kick off playing away from the clubhouse end, and those following the home side all season would have been concerned to have seen that Cornish were short of a specialist hooker and relying on a series of technically strong props instead. Elsewhere, a full debut was given to lock Steve Wood, and there was a welcome return from injury for Chris Smart on the bench.
Two factors dogged Cornish in the opening minutes, the regular concession of penalties along with an horrendous number of knock on’s as players tried to play 7s, over excited by the dry conditions. Early Reigatian pressure saw them try to maul their way over, but they were twice denied by lineout steals by Pete Calvert and Wood. When Cornish finally pieced together some decent phases, when scrum half Ed Atkin hit Phil Dale in the 22, the OR’s centre deliberately knocked the ball on, Josh Allison giving his side the lead with the penalty. At the restart on 18 minutes, the promotion contenders saw a kick charged down and then a penalty conceded, which was kicked to 5 out. With so many unfamiliar names in the pack, the normally strong defence against a rolling maul fell short and the visitors crossed for a converted try. When Mark Osei-Tutu broke clear from a maul on 23 minutes, he burst into the OR 22 only for his final pass to be lost forward. Back came OR’s, winning a penalty smack in front, landed by their kicker to give his side a 10-3 lead. Buoyed by their lead, OR’s then produced a great passage of play, forwards and backs linking and offloading until a long pass gave their left wing a chance to dive over for a well converted try out wide. The score left the visitors 17-3 up at the break.
Cornish elected to make a couple of changes either side of half time, Ian Dowie and Tom Ievers on at prop and back row respectively. From the off, Cornish appeared a different side in the second half, and when an Allison break on 45 saw a penalty won for a high tackle in midfield, the same player reduced the arrears to 11. 4 minutes later and it was Phil Dale returning a poor kick with interest, and feeding Craig Chatley on half-way. Chatley saw his chance, angling his run to draw the wing before spinning a wide pass to Tom Jeffery arriving at pace to pick the ball off his bootlaces, shake off a tackle and plunge over wide right, Allison producing a fine conversion from wide out. Suddenly, the momentum of the game had swung completely, and though ORs missed a kickable penalty on 52, those present could sense the change. Now when Reigatians took the ball into contact on 55, they were held up by Skip Dave Theobald, whose bear like grip gave his side the put in and helped swing that momentum. With Smart now on Cornish sensed their moment, Jeffery again producing a barnstorming run before Chatley burst clear and into the 22 on 62 minutes. With advantage given for offside, OR’s were unable to prevent Jeffery driving through his man to land his 17th try of the league season, this one also converted from the touchline by Allison, the exiles now 20-17 ahead. The shell-shocked visiting team clung on desperately to prevent more damage in their 22 on 68, and they finally made it back into the home 22 on 70 only to be held up over the line. At the scrum, they sent their right wing away but as he went to dive over he was smashed into touch by a superb tackle by Robin Heymann, the Cornish wing always having tackled like a man twice his weight. When OR’s were pinged at the lineout, Cornish cleared their lines. With the game still in the balance, a home rolling maul following a Wood claim was brought down illegally on 75 minutes, the ball kicked to the OR 22 down the left flank. The visitors pinched the lineout, but as they ran it out of their 22, Chatley forced a knock on and his fly hack was pounced on by Ievers, him twice fly hacking on before gleefully pounding on the ball for the game-winning try, though this one was unconverted. With time almost up, OR’s had a last chance to salvage a losing bonus point with a long range penalty, but it went the way of the last kick falling well short, Cornish delighted to have dodged another bullet, 25-17 to the good.
A classic game of two halves is never easy on the side on the receiving end in the 2nd half, and Reigatians demonstrated enough in the opening period to feel they could have taken something from this match. However, there is a reason Cornish have been in the promotion hunt for the last 2 seasons, and in winning yet again from an unpromising position, the home side continue to demonstrate the resilience necessary to compete at the end of season prize-giving.